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“That’s about it, I guess. I hereby declare that this conference is over. Ya can swiftly go back or observe Gahne and learn from it. Ya can do as ya please.” (Gold)

There were a number of other questions, but they were mostly confirmation of intentions rather than questions. The people here are the representatives of nations. They must already know a great deal about each other. 

Each representative stood up and gave orders for their future actions. Prince Washekt left the place swiftly. 

Marito and Pope Euparo seem to be talking about something. I was thinking about going to them too, but King Zenotta came to me.

“You really act strong when needed, huh.” (Zenotta)

“I would have been fine keeping a low stance if it were me alone, but I would like to avoid my comrades getting the short end of the stick for that.” 

King Zenotta just goes with the flow in that sense. At the times when he makes dunce statements, he would make himself look bad, but would try to get his demand through. What lies ahead of that would benefit his country. 

The ability to endure the shame to ask for things tends to decay when you are at a high position. The person himself may not notice it, but it is seriously hard to refuse him. 

“I am not telling you to clash Demon Lords with each other, but I think there’s no doubt they are strong when I think of the power used to destroy the defensive walls.” (Zenotta)

“It is not like I am saying the Demon Lords are incompetent. But the powers they use are different from the ones of humans. I can’t just explain that the whole time to them. I will actually have them move more actively.” 

“That’s great to hear. I am looking forward to work that goes beyond my imagination.” (Zenotta)

This person really likes to ask in secret things that would have been hard to ask in the meeting of before. Seriously.

“Excuse me.” 

I looked in the direction where the sound of armor came and there was the general of Torin, Odyus, standing there. 

I honestly am not acquainted with him, but does he have something he wants to say? I would prefer to be spared from complaints though.

“Is something the matter?” 

“I have something to talk with you about. But before that…” (Odyus)

Odyus turned to King Zenotta and lowered his head deeply. The demi-humans that were at his back also lowered their heads. 

King Zenotta looked at me confused, but what do you expect me to do here? 

“What are you trying to pull here?” (Zenotta)

“I have taken the reprimand of the Taizu King with sincerity. This is my way to make amends. I would like to apologize for the rude attitude I took towards the words you spoke for the sake of your own country and the other countries.” (Odyus)

King Zenotta brushed his beard and understands what’s going on here.

“I don’t really mind though. It is true that it wasn’t an opinion that should be given by envoys after all.” (Zenotta)

“No, even if I can’t change the policy of the country at this place, I should be able to bring your words back to my country and have our king decide. Torin isn’t trying to worsen their relationship with Kuama. Worsening the impression of Torin is without doubt a personal mistake of mine.” (Odyus)

It at the very least looked to Taizu that the representative of Torin was rude to the king of Kuama. Depending on the case, even to all the other countries. 

Odyus felt this and has chosen to apologize in this place where there’s the gazes of Marito and the others. He is one decisive general. 

“As if such a small thing would worsen my impression. If I were someone who would feel displeasure over small acts of superiority from other countries, it would be impossible to perform my duties as a king. But I have certainly taken that apology as a show of sportsmanship from Torin. That’s why you can raise your head.” (Zenotta)

“…I am grateful for your forbearance.” (Odyus)

Odyus kept his head lowered despite that. This must have had some other meaning. 

“And so, you said you had something to talk about with this person here. I shall go over there. See you later!” (Zenotta)

King Zenotta walked off to where Marito is. He most likely went there to talk about the horses. That does bother me a bit. 

“So, what is it you want to talk about?” 

“Umu. Can I ask the name of the white demi-human behind you?” (Odyus)

The gaze of Odyus was directed at Wolfe, This is a bit unexpected.

“It is Wolfe!” (Wolfe)

“Can I ask for the name of your tribe?” (Odyus)

“…The black wolfkins.” (Wolfe)

“Black wolfkins… I see. So it was true that Taizu had found a village where demi-humans live…” (Odyus)

Odyus seems to be groaning. Wolfe doesn’t seem to be bothered too much about the white matter, but I was a bit bothered. 

“General Odyus, you don’t feel anything off from Wolfe’s appearance, huh.” (Wolfe)

“Yeah. It is rare, but there are times when demi-humans with different traits are born in Torin, too. I simply thought it wasn’t strange since she is here.” (Odyus)

Looks like there’s other demi-humans born with rare traits like Wolfe. But judging from how he worded it, they are being seen as outstanding individuals. There’s the matter of the Illegitimates too, so it seems like I will need to investigate a bit more in the future. 

“I see. What’s your business with Wolfe?” (Wolfe)

“I know this is a hard one to accept but…one is to scout her to our country. I could tell even from afar…her talent is threatening. There’s no discrimination towards demi-humans in Torin at all. Won’t you try to put your talent to full use there?” (Odyus)

“No thanks.” (Wolfe)

Instant answer, huh. It is okay to think of it for a bit, you know, Wolfe? Odyus is also making a face as if he was expecting that. 

“Figures. I could tell from your face that there wasn’t any hate towards your current position. Demi-humans who have found their place tend to not leave it. But Torin will always welcome you. You don’t need to consider it. I would be glad if you were to leave it at a corner of your mind.” (Odyus)

“…I will keep it in mind.” (Wolfe)

Is that the correct way of using it? Wolfe tends to speak like a Japanese person. I won’t say whose fault it is though.

“Now then, the main topic is somewhere else. It would be better to not only tell this to Wolfe but you, too. Why is it that us from Torin and Serende are not showing any intentions of helping the other nations? It is most likely being misunderstood as us just thinking our territories are safe and we are prioritizing our nation’s benefit.” (Odyus)

“…Let’s hear about it.” 

I honestly thought that. I would like to hear this for future reference if there’s some other reason. 

“Torin and Serende are countries that are packed with demi-humans. Do you know why they are at the corner of the continent?” (Odyus)

“I heard that it is because you escaped from the invasion of the Demon Lords in the past.” 

“That’s right. Demi-humans are more sensitive when it comes to detecting danger. The demi-humans could tell that both humans and demi-humans would perish if it hadn’t been for the existence of the outrageous being called Yugura. As a result, we were labeled as cowards who ran away from a winning battle…” (Odyus)

Even the demi-human royalty ancestors of Gestaf that stayed were seen with cold eyes in the long span of history. 

Heriodora continued struggling, but the people who escaped must have taken it to the face. 

“Are you saying we can’t win this battle either?” 

“That’s not it. No, that’s the misunderstanding of the humans that must be corrected.” (Odyus)

“Misunderstanding?” 

“At the time when the Blue Demon Lord began invading Kuama, Torin was preparing to dispatch troops. But the battle ended before any real battle happened, so we just kept away without saying anything.” (Odyus)

That’s unexpected information. But if that’s true…there’s a number of points that surface. 

“Are you saying the demi-humans are not scared of all the Demon Lords, but only a number of them including the Scarlet Demon Lord?” 

“…I am glad that you are perceptive. That’s right. There were two Demon Lords our ancestors feared: the Black Demon Lord, and the Scarlet Demon Lord.” (Odyus)

The black wolfkins have told us they ran away in fear of the Black Demon Lord. She was the first Demon Lord to begin the invasion, so the impact must have been big. 

But if we are referring to the ranks of the Demon Lords, the most dangerous one as of present is the Green Demon Lord. Well, he barely did any invading, so let’s exclude him. 

But if that’s the case, Purple should have rose to the top. Purple changed the vastest amount of land into a Nether, and many countries were wary of her. 

I don’t know in detail about how this invasion was in the past, but the battle of the Scarlet Demon Lord shouldn’t have been that outstanding even if looking at history. 

In that case, that shouldn’t be the place I should be putting my attention in. But if it is a reason easy to tell just from seeing it, it would be…

“Leaving aside the Black Demon Lord, the reason why you feared the Scarlet Demon Lord, huh… Is it related to the appearance of the monsters in the Gahne Nether?” 

“…I see. As expected of the resident of Yugura’s planet. That’s right. Our ancestors feared the way of being of the monsters in the Gahne Nether.” (Odyus)

The monsters of the Gahne Nether are stuff like goblins, orcs, and kobolds which have a similar appearance to that of demi-humans. There’s even Earthlings who would think ‘aren’t kobolds also demi-humans?’.

The reality is that beast demi-humans could be made into allies in fantasy stories. 

I am sure there are furries out there who would think demi-humans like Wolfe and Gold who only have animal traits in their ears and tails are fake. 

“Demi-humans are humans with the appearance of animals, and the monsters of Gahne are animals with the appearance of humans, right?” 

“That’s the issue. Our ancestors were in a terrible relationship with humans. They found pride in the fact that they had the blood of animals in their bodies, discriminated against humans, and used that as one of the biggest reasons to look down on them.” (Odyus)

“And so, with bipedal monsters with even deeper animal traits showing up, their self pride began to turn weird.” 

“That’s right. But if it were only that, it would just be an issue of the heart. The real problem happened when trying to stop the invasion of the Demon Lord. It happened when the soldiers that were injured from the battle with the monsters left the battlefield, lived at their homes, and carried their newborns. Those children had inherited the blood of their parents and had their ears and tail…but the father that carried that child gulped his breath. He said his child was closer to an animal than the other babies. That issue began to show with the other demi-human races one after the other. The children of the parents were close in appearance to the monsters they defeated. This issue spread to all the demi-humans in the blink of an eye.” (Odyus)

You can wrap this up with this just being your imagination. After fighting with the Gahne monsters that have far more animal traits which was a trait they were proud of, coupled with continuous days of fighting against them as if they were animals you can’t communicate with, if you were to see a newly born baby with such an unstable state of mind, it wouldn’t be strange for there to be people who would imagine such things. 

But this is an isekai. It wouldn’t be strange for anything to happen. There’s even the possibility this is something that happened because of the power of the Scarlet Demon Lord. 

“They feared the possibility of their own race becoming nothing but monsters, too. And so, all the demi-humans lost the will to fight.” (Odyus)

“What about the changes? Did they recede?” 

“Yeah, it is said that those changes disappeared completely after a few generations and they returned to normal.” (Odyus)

It can’t be wrapped up as their imagination if there was an effect for several generations, huh. I should consider this seriously. 

Even with the elves and dwarves of Serende, of course they wouldn’t want to fight if their own children were to resemble goblins and orcs. 

“Rather than calling it a curse, it is more like they were influenced by something, huh. The demi-humans that held pride in their animal traits fought against monsters with complete animal features, leading to their instincts as animals strengthening for good or for bad, which led to the genes showing to the outside…?” 

“There have been theories like that discussed in the past, but there was nothing conclusive.” (Odyus)

“Not like they can experiment it after all.” 

This would be the experiment a mad scientist would do if this were an isekai story where demi-humans are slaves. 

“But our ancestors feared it as ‘Beast Fall’. If you get involved with the Scarlet Demon Lord, the animal blood inside you would get denser, and you will eventually turn into a beast… This fear has been instilled into us thoroughly to the point it is still present even now.” (Odyus)

“So that’s the reason why the king of Torin is a human.” 

“That’s right. Our ancestors didn’t want the country when Yugura divided them. They were fine with just being in a land where they can avoid being by the side of a Nether, so they were fine with leaving a human as king in Torin -a human king that they could differentiate easily in their fear of the change of the demi-humans.” (Odyus)

Torin has secured itself as a country mainly consisting of demi-humans because of the population density, but they are leaving a human as their top and are trying to be human-like. It would obviously be a pretty big problem if the babies on Earth began to change into animals. All countries carry their own issues, huh.

“Is it okay to take this story as a warning for Wolfe?” 

“Yeah, it would be best to avoid fighting the Gahne Nether monsters as much as possible if you are a demi-human. But she won’t be able to avoid it in her position. That’s why I want the others to properly notice that change.” (Odyus)

“Got it. I am grateful for the warning. I will let Wolfe do as she pleases, but I will keep an eye on her state more than normal.” 

“…I am glad to see that she is serving a good lord. One of my worries has been lowered.” (Odyus)

Talking about this means speaking of the weakness in a demi-human’s heart. This is most likely not a story Torin would like to speak about with pleasure as a nation mainly of demi-humans. The fact that Odyus still did that must mean he has seen the talent of Wolfe, and had no choice but to be aware of it. 

“By the way, I think you have already been communicated about the matter of Leitis from Kuama, but can you please tell me in detail about that?” 

“Aah, about that? I was honestly surprised. It is true that Leitis originated from Torin, but to think that Leitis would try to overthrow the nations. Torin has seized the sacred grounds of Leitis at once and has begun investigating. But it seems like the perpetrators have already disappeared. We couldn’t get any information about it.” (Odyus)

It doesn’t seem to be a lie judging from the reaction of Rakura. I did expect Leitis as a whole wouldn’t be guilty here, but was it really only serving as a hideout? 

“How is it being treated right now?” 

“We couldn’t find any suspicious information, but we have gotten confirmation that the origin of the rebels that died in Kuama were from Torin and Leitis believers. We have accepted the inspectors Kuama gave to Torin, and they are keeping an eye on the sacred grounds and facilities of Leitis. That state will most likely be maintained until this war is over at the very least.” (Odyus)

“I am impressed you accepted the inspectors of another country.” 

“We don’t have a relationship like that of Mejis and the Yugura Church. Also, Torin would like to prove their innocence in this matter after all.” (Odyus)

In that case, this also begs the question of where and what are Raheight and Ritial doing.

It would be great if they are staying put. I have had this opinion before, too. It is something I am thinking of the whole time, so it can’t be helped. 

“You are aware of the Illegitimate to a certain degree, right?” 

“In a sense, yeah. We are investigating the ones who would match this within the nation as per the orders of His Highness. But as for whether we can find new ones…that’s a different story.” (Odyus)

Torin is the land Ritial and his group were using as a base. The Illegitimate that could be found easily must have been secured already. 

“What about the demi-humans with a different appearance from their race?” 

“Those people are already at suitable positions in Torin. We have investigated whether they are connected to the rebels, but there’s no strange signs as of yet.” (Odyus)

Judging from the way he is putting it, Torin seems to have them in pretty high positions. I would like to have them meet Wolfe if they manage to prove their innocence. 

“There’s a high chance they are inside Torin until there’s any movement. Don’t lower your guard.” 

“Understood. Well then, that’s all from me.” (Odyus)

Odyus and his group left. 

Torin was a place I would have liked to head to once we settled matters with the Scarlet Demon Lord, but if there’s mostly people like him there, it may be relatively easy to act. 

Wolfe pulled my sleeve while I was satisfied here. 

“What’s the matter, Wolfe?” 

“Shishou, there’s no need to worry about Wolfe.” (Wolfe)

“I am happy that you are trying to not worry me, but the warning of Odyus isn’t one I can ignore.” 

“Hn…” 

“On the contrary, you shouldn’t worry too much about it. If you think about this as an opportunity to be even more by my side than before…see, it isn’t that bad, right?” 

“…Ooh.” (Wolfe)

Wolfe hammered her hand as if saying she didn’t think of that. Who taught her that gesture? 

I don’t think there will be issues with Wolfe herself, but I am curious about the effects of the Scarlet Demon Lord towards demi-humans. Let’s stay more conscious about leaving her by my side for the near future. 

—–

The kings at that time.

Ze: “Taizu King, I would like to ride the horses of Taizu.” 

Gold: “Sounds like fun. I would like to ride them, too.” 

Ma: “I don’t mind, but I will have you sign a contract that you won’t turn it into a diplomatic issue if you fall from the horse.” 

E: (There’s no doubt they will fall.) 

I have to begin the work for the 2nd volume… Doing the character design looks like it is truly a lot of work. 

I can’t raise my head towards Hitaki Yuu-san who has made wonderful illustrations despite being just rough sketches. 

Now then, this time’s rough character design is one of the main characters: Wolfe. 

I could acutely tell the love of silver hair from Hitaki Yuu-san just from the rough designs… The whole body illustration is in the light novel, so it will be a shoulder up this time around, too. 

You are asking where’s Ilias? She is making a nice face in the front cover of the 1st volume so there’s none of her. 

But if I get permission to publicize the sales promotion illustration of the 1st volume, I might introduce it here…?

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